BG Medicine Welcomes Inclusion of Galectin-3 as Biomarker of Myocardial Fibrosis in 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for Management of Heart Failure

Published 8:30 AM ET Wed, 12 June 2013
Globe Newswire

WALTHAM, Mass., June 12, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BG Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq:BGMD) announced today that galectin-3 testing has been recognized for the first time in the newly issued 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association (ACCF/AHA) Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure. The ACCF/AHA Guideline is designed to assist clinicians in selecting the best management strategy for individual patients and provides expert analysis of data on prevention, diagnosis, risk stratification, and treatment.

Galectin-3 testing has been assigned a Level of Evidence of 'A', multiple populations evaluated, and a Class of Recommendation corresponding to 'May Be Considered' for the purpose of additive risk stratification of acute heart failure patients, and a Level of Evidence of 'B', limited populations evaluated, and a Class of Recommendation of 'May Be Considered' for risk stratification of ambulatory heart failure patients.

The guideline further notes that testing for galectin-3 is predictive of risk of adverse outcomes in heart failure, including hospitalization, and is additive to BNP and NT-proBNP testing for heart failure patient risk stratification.

"We believe that the inclusion of galectin-3 in the updated ACCF/AHA Guideline is an important recognition of the potential significance of galectin-3 in the evaluation and management of patients with heart failure," commented Paul Sohmer, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of BG Medicine.

About American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association (ACCF/AHA) Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure

The American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have jointly produced guidelines in the area of cardiovascular disease since 1980. The ACCF/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines is charged with developing, updating and revising practice guidelines for cardiovascular diseases and procedures. Writing committees are charged with regularly reviewing and evaluating all available evidence to develop balanced, patient-centric recommendations for clinical practice. The guidelines for heart failure management were last published in 2009.

Galectin-3 has been implicated in a variety of biological processes important in the development and progression of heart failure. Higher levels of galectin-3 are associated with a more aggressive form of heart failure, which may make identification of high-risk patients using galectin-3 testing an important part of patient care. Galectin-3 testing may be useful in helping physicians determine which patients are at higher risk of death or hospitalization, including 30-day readmission. www.galectin-3.com

Certain statements made in this news release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. Forward-looking statements in this news release address our belief that the inclusion of galectin-3 in the updated ACCF/AHA Guideline is an important recognition of the potential significance of galectin-3 in the evaluation and management of patients with heart failure; our understanding that higher levels of galectin-3 are associated with a more aggressive form of heart failure, which may make identification of high-risk patients using galectin-3 testing an important part of patient care; and our belief that galectin-3 testing may be useful in helping physicians determine which patients are at high risk of cardiovascular death or rehospitalization, including 30-day readmission. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based